Can the court force my employer to rehire me?

July 1, 2014 by Karen Hill | Filed Under: Law

While the court may be able to force your employer to rehire you, it may not be in your best interest to return to work for the employer that discriminated against you and that you filed a lawsuit against. In the rare cases where an employee does return to work, that employee may be subjected to treatment that is not a violation of the law but that makes working conditions difficult. Before deciding to ask the court to force you to be rehired or accepting a rehire, consult with an employment attorney.

There are some laws that are enforced by the Department of Labor that require that the employer rehire the employee and provide back pay plus interest if the employer is found guilty of a legal violation. While the court cannot demand that the employee and employer give up their free will through a rehire, it is a method to resolve the litigation or at least minimize the amount of back pay the employer is responsible for in the case of an appeal.

If the trial court orders the employer to rehire and the employer refuses, then the employer continues to be responsible for an accumulating amount of back pay while the case goes to appeal. If it is the employee who refuses to return to work for this employer, then the back pay amount stops accumulating at that point, even though the case can continue on appeal.